


Under the Stars

by leighwrites



Series: Land of Rarepairs [5]
Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Fluff, M/M, high time, how many references can you spot?, soft hours
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-07
Updated: 2019-02-07
Packaged: 2019-10-23 16:34:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17687078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leighwrites/pseuds/leighwrites





	Under the Stars

The water tower of Derry sat at the highest point of the town and for Richie it was one of the safest places in town despite how high up it was and how easy it would be to slip off and fall to his death. He loved to sit at the top of the tower, legs dangling through the railing and look out at the town below. He loved the way he felt like he would get sucked into the air, and he loved that it had become a daily tradition for him and Mike to sit up here; so high up that even if anyone could see there were two  _ boys  _ up there, they would never be able to make out just  _ who _ .

It offered them some peace in a fucked up town.

“You’re doing it again.” Mike said, passing the joint over to Richie as he exhaled softly, letting the smoke flow from his mouth. “Off in your own little world like always.”

Richie smiled, reaching over and letting his fingers linger against Mike’s hand as he slowly wrapped them around the joint, pulling it to his own mouth. The town around them was basked in an orange and red glow from the setting sun, giving the summer evening a fiery look.

“It looks like the town’s on fire.” Richie noted, wrapping one arm around the top of the railing to keep himself steady. “If only, right?”

Mike chuckled, lying back on the blanket laid out on the metallic floor behind him and looking up at the sky. “If only.”

“Lemme ask you something Mikey.” Richie inhaled sharply, holding the smoke in his mouth before slowly letting it filter into air around him. “Do you know why the sun sets red?”

There was another chuckle from Mike as he tucked his hands under his head. So it was  _ that  _ kind of high today. “I don’t know Richie. Why does the sun set red?” He knew what Richie was going to say, what he  _ always _ said, but Mike loved nothing more than to humour his high boyfriend.

“It’s ‘cause light is made up of lots of colours and out of all the colours in it, red is the one that travels the farthest.”

“Is that right?” Mike asked, smiling to himself. 

Mike was pretty sure that Richie’s ‘fact’ wasn’t scientifically correct but  _ damn  _ he was too much of an adorable high to argue with when he he came up with theories or rambled about things. Richie had one of the most creative minds he knew and Mike would  _ never  _ take that away from him even if it meant humouring the dumbest things he could think of whenever the high kicked in.

“Yup, that’s right Mikey, you heard it here first.” Richie said, sounding pleased with himself. “You know, I remember when we first came up here.”

“Me too. Stan said there was no way your high ass could climb that rickety ladder and you took off like a fucking spider, scuttling your way up.”

“Hey, I made it to the top didn’t I?”

“Yeah Rich, you did, but you also couldn’t figure out how to get back down.”

“Yeah my adrenaline rush fucked me over with that one when it decided to leave. It was dark. You had to come and get me. The town looked like it it had been sucked into a black hole and it distracted us for a while. We just stood here and stared at it. That’s when I realised I kinda liked this place. And then I came here whenever I was anxious or… I just needed to be alone for a while. You knew I was hiding here. You always did. You came to get me every time.”

Mike smiled fondly as he remembered their earlier days of hanging out up here. “You were a sixteen year old adorable dork with braces. I remember you came up here to hide from Bowers because he wouldn’t follow you. He gave up waiting for you and I came looking -”

“You kissed me that day -”

“It was snowing. There was ice. You almost fell off the tower -”

“That’s when I realised I  _ loved  _ this place.”

“What? Because you almost died here?”

Richie laughed, the sound echoing around them. Mike loved that laugh. It was so genuine and pure. “Fuck no. I loved it because it became our place. It became somewhere safe we could go.”

“You’re very nostalgic tonight.”

Richie grinned, letting himself tip back and slowly releasing the railing. His head met his backpack with a thump, legs still dangling over the ledge, and he passed the joint back to Mike. “I’m just gonna miss it when we leave is all. We had a lot of firsts up here. First kiss, first near death experience -”

“That one was just you -”

“ - first - shut up - first… well everything short of actual sex. Yeah, I’m  _ really _ gonna miss this place.”

Mike was smiling again removing a hand from under his head and laying it between them, his fingers threading with Richie’s. “L.A’s gonna be fine, Rich. We’ll have more firsts.”

“Yeah...” Richie leaned awkwardly towards him, taking the joint as Mike handed it back over. “You’re right, we will.”

By now the sky had darkened a considerable amount, a dark almost inky blue with soft whites dotting across it. These were the nights they liked the most, the ones with the soft summer breeze, the inky sky, the glittering stars and each other. These were moments no one could take from them because no one knew they were lying at the top of a water tower, camping out and getting high.

“You ever wonder what stars are made from?” Richie asked suddenly, his feet kicking back and forth over the ledge. “You know… what the light is made from?”

Mike snorted, tightening his grip on Richie’s hand. “Great kings of the past, Rich.”

Richie burst out laughing, the sound echoing around them and he bumped his elbow against Mike’s in a nudge. “You’re such a fucking dork Mike.”

“I learned it from watching you, Rich.” Mike pointed out, handing the joint back over.

Richie grinned, accepting it and taking a slow hit. “I’d like to think they’re other worlds or something and not just balls of fucking gas. That would be much more exciting if you ask me.”

“Yeah? What would you do if that was true?”

“Build a ship. Fly to ‘em. Get away from this shitty planet.”

Mike tilted his head to the side, staring at Richie’s profile in the dark which was slightly illuminated by the moon. “I thought you were scared of flying?”

Richie’s grin faded into a soft smile as he tilted his head to face Mike, the soft blue of his eyes magnified by his glasses. “I’d be fine if you were there with me.”

“Yeah?” Mike asked, rolling onto his side to lie more comfortably.

“Yeah.” Richie breathed, smoke slowly blowing from his mouth. “I’m always fine when you’re with me.”

Mike was the one smiling softly now, leaning in to kiss Richie slowly. Mike always liked to take his time kissing Richie. They had all the time in the world for everything else, and he loved the way Richie would find some way to cling to him, to make sure they were touching. It wasn’t long before they both pulled away slowly, Mike rolling onto his back again and staring up at the sky. He could feel Richie’s thumb as it traced slow circles against the area between his thumb and index finger; the soft smile still present on his face.

“Imagine if you  _ could  _ fly,” Richie started, bringing the joint back to his mouth, “and I don’t mean in a plane just… if you could jump from this tower right now and fly… you’d be so damn free… never trapped. D’ya think that’s why Stan likes birds so much?”

“Who knows?” Mike carefully took the joint as Richie handed it over again. “But is anything ever  _ really  _ free? How would you know you were free?”

Richie blinked his attention fixed onto the sky again. “Huh, I dunno. I imagine it’d feel like… how I do whenever I’m with you.”

“Startin’ to get a little sappy there Trashmouth.” Mike said with a soft chuckle.

“Hey, fuck you, let me have my soft hours.” Richie snapped playfully. “I guess if you did jump off the tower you would fly… once. You know, before...” Releasing Mike’s hand, Richie made a wild gesture with both of his hands. “ _ Splat! _ ”

Mike let out a laugh, a cloud of smoke bursting from his mouth. “ _ Wow _ Richie.”

“Tell me I’m fucking wrong.” Richie said sitting up and pointing at him almost dramatically. “I  _ dare  _ you.”

Mike stared up at him, a fond look coming to his face as he opened his arms. “If there’s one thing I learned about you Richie, it’s that you’re hardly ever wrong.”

Richie was grinning again, crawling next to Mike and into the space he offered, tucking his head under Mike’s chin. “As much as I’ll miss this place, I can’t wait to leave this shitty town.”

Mike curled his arms around Richie, tilting his head enough that he could press a kiss to his temple. “You and me both, Rich. We only have a week left now and then we’re free just like our friends.”

Richie found himself subconsciously reaching for the item attached to the zipper of his hoodie; a small yellow star that Beverly had made from plastic in one of her classes. She’d made seven of them, all n different colours that she felt represented her friends the best.

_ You get the yellow one because it’s bright, vibrant, and loud as fuck just like you, Trashmouth. _

“Hey Mike?”

“Yeah Rich?”

“I’m sorry you had to stay back in town a little longer because of me.”

Mike’s laugh was soft, vibrating against Richie’s ear as he trailed a hand down his arm, finding Richie’s hand that rested against his shoulder and linking them together. “Hey, don’t be sorry about that. It just means that I get to keep you to myself for a while.”

He couldn’t see Richie’s face, but he knew he was smiling.

It was two in the morning when they finally left, Richie pausing at the foot of the tower to give it one final look. Yeah, he’d miss this place and everything it stood for but Mike was right. They had a whole lot of new firsts on the way and they could always come back whenever they were in town, climb that tower again and relive the old firsts.

“Hey, you coming?” Mike asked, turning back to face Richie.

Richie turned and jogged over to Mike, lacing their fingers together. “Anywhere you go, I go Mikey.”


End file.
